Worth the while
by Nightshadowmidnight
Summary: And as Ikuto's vision darkened and he slipped out of consciousness he once more reminded himself that, so long as he could protect and keep a hold of what was important to him, everything was all worth it. A one-shot about Ikuto after he takes back his violin from Easter.


**So I was watching some clips of Shugo Chara and some that came up were of Ikuto after he steals his violin back from Easter and I remembered that episode where he collapses in pain, yet he holds onto that violin no matter what and it made me think about how important it really is to him. Then the inspiration struck and I thought of this fanfic...**

**I hope it's not OOC at all :L and I hope you enjoy ^^**

* * *

His breath came out in heavy pants, each one feeling so difficult to push through his throat that he was sure he would pass out if he kept this up any longer. Despite this though he attempted to take another, deeper gasp of air that caused the pain already growing in his chest to increase to the point where he thought he might have to stop for a coughing fit.

However Ikuto only grasped his chest for a few seconds, face contorting due to all his discomfort, and then decided to press on.

The teenager forced himself to keep moving through the busy city. He was using the alleyways and secluded streets though of course. Anywhere else and he risked being found by those mindless guards. How they irritated him so. Dressed up in their expensive black suits and dark shades, they were more like flies to him. He nearly always caught sight of them nowadays. They were everywhere. Just like annoying flies he wished he could just swat a few of them away and 'convince' them to leave him alone just like he would have done a few months ago, but right now their attention was purely on tracking him down and dragging him back to the headquarters of Easter like poachers after some elusive, exotic animal.

Ikuto wouldn't get caught. He wouldn't. He'd come too far to get captured and caged up like he was just an animal.

Making sure none of Easter's flies were lurking anywhere, he turned a corner and found himself in yet another dark alleyway. The sun had almost set and the shadows that were cast across the brick walls made Ikuto rather uneasy. He figured this must be a part of the city he hadn't visited before. Strange.

"Ikuto ~ nya…"

Hearing the small, worried, slightly whiny voice of his chara, Ikuto stopped. Placing a hand on the wall beside him to steady himself, he looked back at his chara. "Yoru?" he breathed, not wanting to force himself to talk any louder and add to his chest pains. Truthfully he was glad he'd had an excuse to stop walking and relaxed a bit, though his chest was still rising and falling as his body tried to get more air back in his lungs.

The small, blue cat-chara hovered over his bearer's shoulder and looked at him with wide golden eyes full of genuine concern. "Ikuto, you should really rest ~ nya. Easter's not getting any closer."

Ikuto shook his blue head slightly and rolled his dark eyes. This was perhaps the hundredth time Yoru had suggested this. "No," he insisted, "I can't stop… I've got to keep moving…"

"But, Ikuto," Yoru started again, "you're really ill ~ nya! You've got to rest!"

"No." he said firmly.

Yoru's expression became a mix of concern and horror. He couldn't believe Ikuto's words. "But if you don't stop this you're doing to die ~ nya!" he shouted.

_'Over exaggerating," _Ikuto thought to himself. He ignored his guardian character's protests and continued walking.

But after only a few metres Ikuto began to realise how true Yoru's words might be.

It was an effort just to move. His whole body felt heavy, weak and he was on the verge of collapsing. To put one foot forward felt exhausting now and his body was working so hard just to keep him awake that his heart rate seemed to be going triple the pace of any normal human being. He also appeared to be getting a fever, or some sort of it at least. He felt hot all over and his head especially was burning.

The blue-headed teen wiped the sweat that had been forming on his brow with an unusually pale, shaky hand and tried his best to ignore the throbbing headache he'd been suffering from for quite a while now.

He didn't know what had caused it, but the pain that was aching away in his head was the worst part of all of this. It throbbed in every part of his brain, making his already tired eyes ache.

Yet still Ikuto pressed on, all the more determined to keep going.

He felt worse and worse as he went on, yet he knew this was worth it. He felt a familiar weight resting onto his back that reminded him of that fact.

Ikuto peered back at the white violin case securely strapped over his shoulder and he gripped the fabric of the strap, knowing that this was the reason for his situation right now, but not caring one bit. So long as Easter didn't get their hands on this violin everything was worth it.

So desperately he wanted to be able to take it out of its case and play a tune or two, but now was certainly not the time and he couldn't do it in his condition anyway.

No… it wasn't the violin that got him into this situation. Easter did. Easter was the reason he was out here in the cold, half-dead stumbling through the city in the dark whilst they tracked him down. What they wanted with this violin he didn't know, but Ikuto didn't like it. How dare they. How dare they take away one of the few things he held dear and refuse to hand it back over. He was sure they just wanted to make him suffer, to make him miserable, to make him compensate and pay up for what his father didn't do.

But why ever Aruto left Ikuto was sure he had his reasons. At least that's what he used to think. Now things seemed just so hopeless. Life seemed to be just a blur to him, a blur that only he seemed to exist in. Besides Yoru, he almost felt alone in the world.

That was probably why this violin was so special to him. It reminded him of the better days of his childhood before Easter and before his father left. Those were the days when he was really happy with his two loving parents and little sister. He remembered spending long hours with his father as he listened to the music produced by the instrument and he remembered when he'd first learned to play it. His father would roll his eyes and laugh at him when Ikuto got frustrated over a piece of music he couldn't play and when he did manage to learn that piece he would listen, proud that his son had inherited his gift and praise him before ruffling his blue hair and moving on to the next sheet of notes.

This simple instrument held so many memories for Ikuto, so many happy ones. And he didn't have a lot of happy memories.

He could honestly say he had not one regret about stealing the violin back from Easter. This was his dad's and he'd be damned if he was going to let anyone take it away from him. He wouldn't let Kazuomi get his dirty hands on his father's violin.

All of a sudden a searing pain coursed through his head, one so overwhelming a small cry escaped his lips and he collapsed onto his knees on the cold alley floor, pressing a hand to the side of his skull. He could faintly hear his chara yelling his name frantically in the background, but didn't pay attention to it.

Gritting his teeth as it became more intense, he eventually could take no more and allowed himself to slump down onto the ground. The violin slipped off from his shoulder and landed with a thudding sound next to him, though thankfully the case protected the object inside.

As Ikuto lay there he noticed his vision was slowly starting to fade. He knew he was going to pass out eventually.

In an attempt to keep the violin safe he grabbed onto the strap and edged it towards him. As it was pulled up against his chest he locked his arm around it, clutching onto the case as though his life depended on it. The violin inside was one of the only things he had of his father besides a memory and he wasn't going to give it up so easily.

And as Ikuto's vision darkened and he slipped out of consciousness he once more reminded himself that, so long as he could protect and keep a hold of what was important to him, everything was all worth it.


End file.
